EPILOGUE

There was music. A piano song. Bright yellow daffodils smiled from the window boxes. The common room was nearly empty. It would soon fill up.

The decorations on the walls were bunnies and ducks and Easter eggs.

At five thirty they brought dinner. Tonight it was Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. There was also a cup of applesauce.

Charles looked out the window, at the long shadows growing in the forest. It was springtime, the air was fresh. The world smelled like green apples. Soon it would be April. April meant danger.

Charles knew there was still peril in the forest, a darkness that swallowed the light. He knew that girls should not venture into the woods. His twin sister Charlotte had ventured into the woods.

He took his mother’s hand.

It was up to him, now that Roland was gone. There was so much evil out there. Ever since he had come to live at Devonshire Acres he had watched the shadows take human form. And at night he heard their whispers. He heard the rustling of leaves, the swirling of the wind.

He put his arm around his mother. She smiled. They would be safe now. As long as they stayed together, they would be safe from the bad things in the forest. Safe from those who would do them harm.

Safe, Charles Waite thought.

Ever after.